Venison pie with cumquat and star anise

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 Photo by Steve Shanahan

This column first published Canberra Times 8 September 2010 and  an updated version in November 2012.

This pie, now a family favourite started life as a simple and unadorned venison pie. Over the years I’ve modified the recipe to reflect the seasons and our changing tastes.  This recipe is by far my most popular post and still attracts the highest number of hits. The recipe has been scooped up by a number of foodies in the US and appears on websites as diverse as food history and game shooting. 

Venison is a sturdy meat that can be matched with bold and robust aromatics, and like other game meats has a tendency to toughen and tighten up. To avoid this, I generally slow cook my venison and I prefer to use the cuts from the shoulder or the rump, as when slow cooked it falls apart and melts in the mouth. These cuts deliver a rich and gamey pie topped with a crispy, buttery crust.

The Maggie Beer sour cream shortcrust pastry is the only pastry I would consider for this pie, as anything else would sell it short. The richness of the sour cream and the butter is a perfect match for the bold flavours of the meat. If you are a novice at pastry making this recipe is very forgiving and worth a try.

I find that I need to order the venison meat through my butcher as it’s not generally readily available. As this pie is worthy of a special occasion, it would be wise to check the availability of venison with your butcher. If you cannot get your hands on some deer meat, you could easily use beef and still have a delicious result. 

Venison pie is an exceptional special occasion meal, with an incredibly rich, complex and balanced set of flavours that can be served with a creamy mash or my new favourite, creamed cauliflower.  Broad beans or green string beans with a hint of butter and nutmeg work beautifully too. The perfect wine match is a rich Pinot Noir. 

If you cannot obtain cumquats, use 1/4 of an orange, including the skin and flesh. Remove before serving.

To make creamed cauliflower, blend cooked, hot cauliflower with 2 tbsp cream or butter, adding salt and nutmeg to taste.

Venison Filling

4 tbsp olive oil

250 g speck, diced

¼ cup plain flour

1.3 kg cubed venison

2 cloves garlic, chopped

10 golden shallots, diced

6 large mushrooms, sliced

375 ml red wine (pinot is good)

300 ml beef or veal stock

2 tbsp tomato paste

5 whole cumquats, halved and deseeded

½ tsp ground cloves

4 star anise

½ tsp ground cinnamon

1 level tsp juniper berries

extra stock if needed

2 sprigs of rosemary

salt and pepper to taste

Ensure the venison is trimmed of sinew and diced into small pieces. Roll the venison in plain flour, shaking off excess and setting aside. Bruise the juniper berries, cinnamon and cloves in a mortar and pestle. 

Heat the oil on medium heat in a large saucepan then add the shallots and garlic, frying until transparent. Add the juniper, cinnamon and cloves and mix well. Then add the diced venison and speck cooking until browned for about eight minutes. Add the stock, wine, cumquats, star anise, rosemary and mushrooms and cook on medium to high heat until bubbling. 

Reduce heat to low, place the lid on the pan and cook for approximately two to three hours, stirring occasionally until meat is tender and sauce is thick and dark. Add seasoning to taste and set aside to cool. Prepare the pastry while the filling is cooking.

Maggie Beer's Pastry

200 g of chilled unsalted butter, chopped

250 g of plain flour

½ cup of sour cream

1 beaten egg

Preheat the oven to 200 C

Grease a 23cm deep pie dish. Place the butter and flour into the bowl of a food processor, then pulse until the mixture resembles coarse breadcrumbs. Add the sour cream and pulse again until the dough just forms a ball. Carefully wrap the dough in plastic film and leave to rest in the refrigerator for 15 to 20 minutes. 

Place the cooled filling into the greased pie dish, filling till it is about one centimetre below the rim. Roll out the dough until it is about 5 mm thick, then carefully folding the dough back over the rolling pin, place it over the filled pie dish and press to seal the edges. Cut three slits in the top of the pie to allow the steam to escape. Chill the filled pie for about 20 minutes before cooking as this will reduce shrinkage. 

Remove the pie from the refrigerator and coat the pastry top with beaten egg. Cook the pie for approximately 45 minutes until warmed through and the pastry is lightly golden.

Duck in master stock

Duck in master stock

Photo by Steve Shanahan

First published Canberra Times 7 December 2012 

Duck, cooked in a myriad of ways, is one of the most popular street foods across Asia. If you tend to avoid cooking duck because you believe it’s too difficult, this method of red braising will give you sweet and succulent meat with a deliciously crispy skin every time. Using this ancient but simple technique might give you confidence to add duck to your favourites list.

The very traditional method of red braising produces some prized master stocks, with recipes that are often handed down by families over generations. Many family master stocks are so highly valued they are given as a wedding present to represent good luck and a long and happy life.

I picked up my master stock recipe many years ago from Darren Ho, who was the executive chef at the award winning restaurant Terroir, in the Hunter wine region. Ho, steeped in the business of food since he was seven years old, hails from a long line of chefs and restaurant owners. His grandfather bestowed the family master stock recipe on him and the affable chef willingly  shares his knowledge of this cherished braising liquid. 

My master stock is more than a decade old and, like a good red wine, has aged gracefully, with its well balanced flavours bearing testament to many past meals. I have named my pre-adolescent stock Mao, as the erstwhile Chairman of the Peoples’ Republic insisted that his dishes were cooked in this way.

Preparing your first master stock is simply a matter of combining the ingredients in a large stockpot and simmering until the flavours are infused. If you follow some basic rules, the stock will keep in the refrigerator for many years, ready for when you next need it. Before refrigerating, the stock should be strained and brought to a rolling boil for a few minutes after each use, to keep it free from nasty bacteria. The complexity and depth of flavour of the master stock continues to grow based on the accumulated meat and vegetable infusions.

The flavours in master stock are incredibly versatile and will provide just the right base for sauces, soups or gravy. It can even be reduced down to a paste to make a glaze for pork or ham, and it makes an easy stir fry sauce or as a natural enhancer for casseroles instead of using stock cubes. 

Duck legs, or marylands, are the best cut of duck meat for this recipe, and the skin can then be crisped up under a hot grill before serving. I like to serve the duck with a fresh Asian style salad of mint, coriander, lychees and ginger to cut through the richness of the duck meat.

If you are cooking for a special occasion and you have a large enough pot, a whole red braised duck is an impressive dish, just make sure you make enough stock to cover the bird in the pot and cook slowly for three and a half hours on top of the stove on a very low heat. You will need to double the recipe quantities below to cook a large piece of meat. Pork belly can also be braised in this way, adding some onion, cloud ears (black fungus) to the stock.

For your initial batch of master stock, prepare it a day before you are ready to cook your duck, so the flavours will have time to infuse. Each time you use the stock you can add to it by replenishing the ingredients to ensure you keep a large enough quantity for your next use. The ingredient quantities are approximate, you can adjust these based on your taste.

The ingredients in the recipe are available at Asian grocery stores and the quantity serves 4.

Master stock

2 litres of water

250ml Shaoxing wine

125ml light soy sauce

75ml dark soy sauce

100g yellow rock sugar of palm sugar

3 cumquats or 3 pieces of orange peel

2 cinnamon quills

4 star anise

1 knob of ginger, roughly chopped

4 cloves of garlic, peeled

5 dried Chinese mushrooms

Duck

4 duck marylands or 8 duck legs

full recipe quantity of master stock

2 shallots, chopped

12 lychees, peeled and chopped or tinned

½ cup mint leaves

½ cup coriander leaves

½ red chilli, chopped

2 tbsp ginger, peeled and finely chopped

4 kaffir lime leaves, finely shredded

juice of half a lime

To make the master stock, bring all the ingredients to boil in a large stock pot, simmer for half an hour. Strain. This recipe makes about two and a half litres. Any leftover master stock can be refrigerated for up to two weeks or frozen for longer periods. With regular resuscitation, rejuvenation, boiling and refreezing, your stock can be made to last for generations.

To prepare the duck, preheat the oven to 160C. Trim any excess fat from the duck and slit the joint in the leg to keep it flat. Place in a baking dish, skin side down. Bring the master stock to the boil in a saucepan and pour over the duck pieces so they are almost submerged. Cover with a lid or aluminium foil and place in the oven. Cook for one and a half hours and then remove the lid or foil and turn the duck over to skin side up. Cook for another 45 minutes until the meat is almost falling from the bone.

Remove the duck from the stock and refrigerate until needed. Completely chill the master stock in the refrigerator and then remove the fat that has accumulated on the top. Place two cups of master stock in a saucepan, bring to the boil and reduce by half. The duck pieces can be either reheated in the reduced stock or, for a crispy skin, placed in a shallow pan, skin side up and reheated in a 180C oven for 10 minutes or reheated under a hot grill.

While the duck is reheating and sauce reducing, make the salad by combining the remaining ingredients in a bowl and tossing with a squeeze of lemon juice.

Transfer the duck pieces to a serving bowl and pour over the reduced stock, then pile the lychee and ginger salad on top of the duck.

Christmas giving

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Photos by Steve Shanahan

First published 5 December 2012 Canberra Times and goodfood.com.au

There are gifts that are wrapped with tizzy paper and topped with beautiful ribbons and cards, and there are gifts that are hand made specially with love. It's such a treat seeing your handmade gifts, opened on the spot and then devoured bite by bite.

Mulled cranberry and apple jelly

Makes 1.4 litres

This spiced jelly is perfect with  roast lamb, beef, turkey or pork. It is also equally delicious on toast. I added an extra star anise to each jar, by holding the star anise in place with a skewer and allowing it to set before removing the skewer.

1kg of Granny Smith apples

450g frozen cranberries, thawed

3 lemons, chopped

1 and 1/2 tbsp whole cloves

4 cinnamon quills

4 star anise

grated zest and juice of 1 orange

approximately 1.5kg of caster sugar

2 tbs red wine vinegar

Chop the apples, don't peel or core them, and place in a large saucepan with berries, lemon, spices, zest, juice and 6 cups of water, stirring to combine.

Bring to the boil over high heat, then reduce to low and simmer, stirring occasionally, 45 minutes until apples are soft. Don't squash the fruit or your jelly will be cloudy.

Line a large colander with muslin or a new Chux and set over a large bowl. Pour in fruit mixture and stand for 4 hours to drain. Don't squeeze the fruit as this will make the jelly cloudy.

Sterilise 5 small jars about 300ml each with their lids. Chill a small saucer in the freezer.

Discard the fruit pulp and measure the volume of liquid. Weigh out the sugar, allowing one cup to every cup of liquid. Combine sugar, juice and vinegar in a clean pan over low heat. Stir for five minutes or until the sugar is dissolved. Increase heat to high, stop stirring and bring to the boil. Boil rapidly for 45 minutes, skimming occasionally until thick and syrupy. Test if it's ready by spooning a little of the jelly onto the cold saucer, push your finger through it, if it wrinkles and your finger leaves a trail, it is ready. If not, return to the boil and test every five minutes until it's ready.  It should be 105C on a sugar thermometer.

When it's ready, take off the heat and let it settle for a few minutes. Ladle jelly into a sterilised jug, pour into sterilised prepared jars, then seal. Allow to set in a cool, dark place for a day, then keep for up to three months.

Hungarian chocolate salami

Photo Steve Shanahan

210g ground dark chocolate

210g ground walnuts

50g prunes, chopped

1 egg

70g caster sugar

2 tbsp rum

vanilla paste

Makes two logs.

Blend all ingredients in a food processor until the mixture is combined.

Line a tray with baking paper.

Tip the mixture out onto a board dusted with icing sugar and roll into two sausages and roll to cover with icing sugar.

Place the chocolate rolls onto the baking paper lined tray and leave in a cool place to dry out for two days.

When the rolls have hardened and dried a little, slice each roll very thinly and store in an airtight container. The chocolate salami will keep for two weeks in an airtight container in the cupboard.

You can wrap the chocolate rolls in cellophane and tie the ends, bon-bon style, and give as a gift.

Chocolate panforte in a bag

Photo Steve Shanahan

Makes about 40 pieces

1/2 cup caster sugar

1/2 cup honey

50g unsalted butter

300g fruit mince

1 and 1/2 cup plain flour, sifted

1 cup cocoa powder, softed

1 tsp ground mixed spice

1 tsp cinnamon

grated zest of one orange

100g roasted and chopped hazelnuts

100g chopped pistachios

100g chopped macadamias

1/2 cup chopped dried figs

icing sugar to dust

Preheat oven to 160C and line an 18cm x 28cm lamington tin with baking paper.

Stir sugar, honey, butter and mince in a pan over low heat for three to five minutes until the sugar dissolves.  Sift the flour, cocoa and spices into a large bowl. Add zest, nuts, figs, fruit mince mixture and a pinch of salt. Stir to combine well, it will be quite stiff. Tip into the prepared pan and use wet hands to smooth the top.

Bake for 15 minutes until firm on top. Cool in the pan, then invert onto a cutting board and dust with icing sugar. Cut lengthways into five thin sections, then cut widthways into 8 sections to form about forty 3cm squares. Keep for up to one month in an airtight container in the fridge,then pack into cellophane bags and tie the tops with ribbon.